Foes blast Wilson for illegal immigrant

Steven A. Capps, EXAMINER SACRAMENTO BUREAU

Published 4:00 am, Thursday, May 4, 1995

SACRAMENTO - Gov. Wilson's disclosure that he once employed an illegal immigrant as a maid - and that he has still failed to pay employer taxes as required by law - moved through the Capitol like wildfire Thursday, where opponents branded him a hypocrite and said he should immediately cease his campaign against illegal immigration.

"This is music to my ears," said Assemblyman Joe Baca, D-San Bernardino, a leading opponent of last year's Proposition 187, the anti-illegal immigration measure backed by Wilson and overwhelmingly approved by voters.

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Baca's reaction was echoed by other Democrats, who took a beating at the polls last year as Wilson and other Republicans used illegal immigration as a key campaign issue. Many said it could hurt his possible campaign for the Republican nomination for president.

"Obviously, it's ironic that the governor would find himself in this situation," said Assemblyman Louis Caldera, D-Los Angeles. "But the governor has around him the best spin doctors in the world. They manage to make the most egregious transgressions seem like kid's play."

Assembly Speaker Willie Brown, D-San Francisco, said the issue would dog the governor. "Everywhere he goes somebody is going to ask him about this."

And Assemblyman John Vasconcellos, D-San Jose, said it could end his campaign for president.

"If people want a hypocrite for president, he's got a good chance," he said.

Republicans, however, branded the attacks as pure partisan politics.

Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Redlands, immediately came to Wilson's defense, saying the governor was handling the situation "honestly, directly and quickly."

"Pete is one of the most scrutinized public figures in the country," Lewis said. "Had he been aware of this situation before now he would have taken these steps long ago."

Impending newspaper reports&lt;

Wilson made the situation public Wednesday as the New York Times and Washington Post prepared to publish stories about the housekeeper. The governor admitted that he and his former wife, Betty Hosie, had employed an undocumented worker, Josefina Klag, as a maid for $25 a day in 1978. Wilson was mayor of San Diego at the time.

The woman became a legal resident the next year, Wilson said, but the Wilsons never paid Social Security taxes as required by federal law. With penalties, the governor now owes about $3,000, which he has not yet paid.

According to Wilson's office, the governor did not know of the situation until March 29. A legal advisor, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the matter was still under investigation and they had not planned to make it public until that investigation was complete.

The advisor said when he informed Wilson of the situation, the governor reacted with "disbelief."

" "I can't believe it' - he did say that," the advisor said.

Wilson's office said Hosie, his former wife, called his office in March to report that she was worried, in light of Wilson's planned presidential campaign, that they had never paid taxes for their former maid.

"I think she had been worrying about this for years," said the legal advisor. "She's embarrassed that she failed to carry out her responsibilities and frightened that it's going to be an embarrassment to the governor."

The governor's staff interviewed both Hosie and Klag and learned that not only had they not withheld taxes, but that the woman was an illegal resident at the time. The law in 1978 did not require the Wilsons to inquire about her immigration status.

In a statement issued from New York, where Wilson was holding a series of meetings related to his campaign, he said:

"I can categorically state that I have never knowingly employed an illegal immigrant and never intentionally failed to make payment of the employer's contribution to Social Security for an employee," Wilson said in his statement.

"It was a very long time ago, but if I had known at the time that Ms. Klag wasn't a legal resident, we would not have hired her. Having said that, Betty and I are taking the necessary steps to determine and satisfy our obligation to pay Social Security taxes and penalties. We will pay them fully and expeditiously based upon our shared responsibility," he said.

Wilson did not recall ever meeting the woman, said his legal advisor.

Opponents bristle&lt;

Baca and others bristled at Wilson's explanation that the maid was hired by his former wife.

"Blaming his wife? Why doesn't he take it like a man. He should still have complied with the law," Baca said.

"He ought to take the responsibility," said Brown.

Others who have fought Wilson on the immigrant issue also blasted him.

"If Wilson cared about his housekeeper as a human being he would have taken the time to ask about her status, her needs and her family. The fact that he didn't even ask makes him even more of a hypocrite," said Denise Hulett, staff attorney for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund.

Similar incidents involving the hiring of undocumented workers and the failure to pay Social Security taxes have dogged other California politicians, as well as Clinton administration nominees, in the past few years.

Klag, who could not be reached for comment Thursday, continued to work for Hosie until 1992 and now works for another family in San Diego's La Jolla district.

Ex-wife takes blame&lt;

In a statement by Hosie released by the governor's office, the governor's former wife said: "In the late 1970s, I employed Josefina Klag as a cleaning woman, who came to my house one day a week. I never asked her if she was in the country legally, and she never gave me cause to believe otherwise. I employed Josefina; my husband did not. I do not recall ever discussing her legal status with him."

"Sometime in the mid-1980s, after our divorce, I became aware I had an obligation to contribute to Social Security on behalf of Josefina," Hosie said in the statement.

"When I did learn of my obligation, I continued to procrastinate and did not seek to correct my delinquency until recently. I called the governor's office. I had never previously disclosed this to the governor."

In a memo to Wilson, one of the governor's longtime friends and advisors, John Davies, said, "I infer that news reports of your possible presidential candidacy may have caused Betty to focus on this matter, resulting in her call."

According to Davies' memo, Hosie called Wilson's chief of staff March 29 to say she was concerned about the fact that she had never paid Social Security taxes for the housekeeper. The governor asked Davies to investigate the matter, and an assistant conducted interviews with both Hosie and the housekeeper.&lt;